About the Journal

Cálamo is a diamond open-access scholarly journal published biannually (January and July) by the Faculty of Law of the Universidad de Las Américas, Ecuador, since 2014. It is addressed to the academic community and to readers interested in legal studies and their relationship with other fields of knowledge. Its mission and objective are to generate and disseminate interdisciplinary legal scholarship that contributes to the analysis of contemporary issues, with a particular emphasis on Latin America.

The journal issues two calls for papers each year centred on a specific theme and welcomes submissions on a wide range of topics throughout the year. The articles published in the Dossier (thematic section) and Essay (open section) are research articles and scholarly essays that contribute to legal knowledge and analysis, as well as interdisciplinary studies that explore the connections between law and the broader social sphere from the perspectives of Political and Constitutional Theory, the Social Sciences, and the Humanities. Each issue of Cálamo also includes book reviews and interviews, preferably related to the theme addressed in the Dossier.

Brief History

The creation of Cálamo took place during a period of significant transformation in higher education in Ecuador. At that time, the country was seeking to move structurally beyond a position of consuming and reproducing knowledge towards becoming an active contributor to its production and development. Within this context, the Faculty of Law of the Universidad de Las Américas decided to establish its own journal of legal studies and, recognising the complexity of analysing social reality, adopted a multidisciplinary approach from the outset.

From its inaugural issue, dedicated to gender studies, Cálamo has contributed to scholarly debate on timely, relevant, and necessary topics. Since then, it has addressed a wide range of issues spanning both public and private law, domestic and international law, as well as matters concerning Ecuador and the broader Latin American region.

As part of the journal’s internationalisation process and in its commitment to maintaining high academic standards, Cálamo obtained its first indexation in Latindex with its fourth issue and has been included in the Latindex Catalogue 2.0 since 2025. The journal continues to work consistently towards expanding its dissemination and ensuring the highest standards of academic quality.